The meeting jumped right into the new NCAA rules debate with Kathy DeBoer leading the conversation.

Kathy gave a little background on how the rules were adopted. She explained that there have been other rules in other sports that were not popular when first announced, such as three-point line and time clock in basketball.

The breakdown for passing was split very close:

* DI was for it by small majority.

* DII and DIII was against it by a small majority.

Kathy explained that the most successful sports right now are NFL, NCAA men's DI Basketball, sports where, on any given night, there's the possibility of an upset. This is what drives people to watch, she said. Coaches don't like it because of stress, but that is the fact.

Trish mentioned Mary Wise's recent letter about the rules, in which she said something to the effect that these are the rules, we'll need to live with them, learn them, coach them and move on.

Kathy said she and Mary did ask the NCAA about whether a rule can be reviewed prior to the start of the season once it has been passed by the PROP (Playing Rules Oversight Panel). The answer was no.

She added that the NCAA said that research will begin again in the fall to see how these rules work. Are the matches shorter? Longer? Same length? The research will be used to reevaluate the rules to determine if they worked, did not work, should be changed, etc.

More discussion followed about the rules. Topics included:

* Whether TYC schools have to adopt them.

* Whether the men will follow the new rules. At this time, John Speraw said that the men's championship committee will make the decision.

* What happens should, say, the NAIA not adopt the rules and they play a team that does follow the new rules. Then, the home team would determine the rules. So, if a TYC plays at home vs. an NAIA, the TYC rules would apply. And, visa versa.

* What happens to the record book - sideout era, rally to 30 points, rally to 25 points. Possibly asterisks to explain them.

Kathy asked if anyone remembers the average number of rotations in sideout scoring? She knows that a 30-point game averages 18 rotations, and a 25-point game should average 15.

She concluded with two last points:

1. The debate on the rules has been passionate. It has also been good for our association. Sometimes a good hard fought debate like this one helps re-energize us and lets' us know that the folks in the association are out there and care about the sport.

2. Whether you were in favor or not in favor, remember that this was a process. If there is a consequence of these changes, the rules will get changed again because the goal of the NCAA is not to make volleyball worse, but to make it better. If these new rules do not work, they will get changed and/or fixed. (An example was a rule in college football a few years ago. It didn't work and was modified within a year.)

Terry adds that if the rules are going to be determined by NCAA DI, and the NJCAA is always going to adopt them, then we need to start working and concentrating on our own athletes. We need to be player oriented.

II: Beach Events

Kathy asked if the TYC colleges have any interest in beach events. She had heard from some folks about this. Is there interest?

Trish - More of a climate controlled event. Florida, California only interest at this time.

Jayme mentioned that there are some indoor sand facilities in the Northwest. She also asked if, for the beach events, the school uses the same players or gets other players.

Kathy responded that, right now, the NCAA doesn't' look at it as a different sport. So, right now, no extra dates and use the same people.

More discussion followed on the subject.

III. Trish's Challenge

Trish wanted to end the call with a challenge to the committee. She asked that the committee determine a goal to achieve by the end of the season/convention. She asked that ideas for this goal be sent to her and then they can be discussed in upcoming calls.

She asked if anyone had anything they'd like to accomplish this year/

IV. For Next Time

Trish asks everyone to think about the following for next time:

* Trish's challenge - something to accomplish this year/

* How to market the TYC players.

* Think about playing beach. What needs to be done to do this at the TYC level? How to get a sand court built - are there instructions out there?

Meeting adjourned approx. 12:25 p.m. ET

The next meeting will be held on the second Wednesday of May - May 14, 10:30 a.m. CT (11:30 a.m. ET).